Ecological Crisis Quotes

“I once asked Bill McKibben, after an energising speech to a capacity crowd, when – given that the situation is as urgent as he portrayed it and we all know it is – we escalate. He was visibly ill at ease. The first part of his response presented what we might call the objection from asymmetry: as soon as a social movement engages in violent acts, it moves onto the terrain favoured by the enemy, who is overwhelmingly superior in military capabilities. The state loves a fight of arms; it knows it will win. Our strength is in numbers. This is a pet argument for strategic pacifists, but it is disingenuous. Violence is not the sole field where asymmetry prevails. The enemy has overwhelmingly superior capabilities in virtually all fields, including media propaganda, institutional coordination, logistical resources, political legitimacy and, above all, money. If the movement should shun uphill battles, a divestment campaign seems like the worst possible choice: trying to sap fossil capital by means of capital.”
― Andreas Malm, How to Blow Up a Pipeline

“Wenn eine Gesellschaft nicht mit der Erschöpfung ihrer Ressourcen umgehen kann, drehen sich die wirklich interessanten Fragen um die Gesellschaft und nicht um die Ressource. Welche strukturellen, politischen, ideologischen oder wirtschaftlichen Faktoren in der Gesellschaft verhinderten eine angemessene Reaktion”
― Joseph A. Tainter, The Collapse of Complex Societies

“The fact that the countries with the highest birth rates generally have the lowest standard of living and produce the least pollution fatally undermines such claims - if the poorest 3 billion people on the planet somehow disappeared tomorrow, there would be virtually no reduction in ongoing environmental destruction.”
― Ian Angus, Facing the Anthropocene: Fossil Capitalism and the Crisis of the Earth System

“Como imaginar uma solução verdadeira, isto é, radical, para o problema da crise ecológica, sem mudar, do vinho para a água, o modo atual de produção e de consumo, gerador de desigualdades gritantes e de estragos catastróficos? Como impedir a degradação crescente do meio ambiente sem romper com uma lógica econômica que só conhece a lei do mercado, do lucro e da acumulação? Quer dizer, sem um projeto utópico de transformação social, que submeta a produção a critérios extraeconômicos, democraticamente escolhidos pela sociedade? E como imaginar semelhante projeto sem integrar, como um dos seus principais eixos, uma nova atitude em relação à natureza, respeitosa do meio ambiente? O "Princípio Responsabilidade" (de Hans Jonas) é incompatível com um conservacionismo tremente, que se recusa a questionar o sistema econômico atual, e que qualifica de "irrealista" qualquer busca por uma alternativa.”
― Michael Löwy, O que é ecossocialismo?

“How can we, despite countless government pledges and programmes and a groundswell of civic society, remain quietly on course to sacrifice swathes of this planet's people and lifeforms to the demands of an affluent and powerful minority?”
― Adrienne Buller, The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism

“The way we pay for the present by liquidating the future truly fits the definition of a Ponzi scheme. Any other forms of Ponzi schemes are outlawed, only the ecological one we seem to ignore or even encourage.”
― Mathis Wackernagel, Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budget

“Des del punt de vista de la Natura, no hi ha drama. En una batalla oberta de l'ésser humà contra la Natura salvatge, aquesta darrera guanyarà. La vida sempre s'obre camí davant totes les adversitats. No estem davant la fi de la vida. Estem davant la perillosa fi del món que coneixem i al qual ens hem adaptat al llarg de les últimes desenes de milers d'anys.”
― Alex Nogués, Severn Cullis-Suzuki: Feu que les vostres accions reflecteixin les vostres paraules

“Extingir el misteri de milers de descobriments d'espècies desconegudes. Convertir els amagatalls d'un bosc en una planura de monocultiu. Aniquilar milers de futurs d'infants, amb les seves vides asfixiades per l'avarícia d'uns pocs. Estem davant la fi de la bellesa.”
― Alex Nogués, Severn Cullis-Suzuki: Feu que les vostres accions reflecteixin les vostres paraules

“Animals live within ecological limits.
Humans try to bend ecology to their will.
Collapse follows.”
― Rema Thankappan